A dad was thrown "four feet in the air" shortly before he drowned in rough seas. Experienced kayaker John Robert Slack, 34, a "happy-go-lucky" from Birmingham travelled to Gwynedd last May for the first time since lockdown restrictions were lifted, to paddle in water off Tywyn beach.
Before he set out to paddle in the water off Tywyn beach, a beach warden warned him not to go into the water, an inquest in Caernarfon was told today. But Mr Slack, 34, ignored the advice, got into difficulty shortly afterwards and had to be recovered from the water by the Aberdyfi coastguard team
The "loving" dad-of-two died en route to Ysbyty Bronglais, Aberystwyth on May 9. The inquest was told he would frequently visit the region in his campervan and would often camp out near the sea.
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Beach warden George Watson told the hearing he had been patrolling Tywyn that morning and noted the high tide and strong winds. Mr Watson said he saw Mr Slack paddling out to sea in a "controlled manner" but when he saw him again he was sitting on the tideline near the slipway.
Mr Watson said: "I approached him and he told me he had been thrown out about 4ft in the air but said he was going to go out again. I told him that although i couldn't stop him I strongly advised that he did not but he said he was a strong paddler and went out again."
Mr Watson then saw Mr Slack come off the kayak and go into the water. He then noticed that Mr Slack was "waving and shouting" so he made the decision to call 999.
Mr Slack was in the water for around 15 minutes before he was recovered by Aberdyfi coastguard team. He was showing signs of life when he was initially pulled from the water but sadly died on the way to Bronglais, where he was officially pronounced dead.
His father, Robert Slack, said in a statement which was read out during the inquest that his son "loved being in Wales" and always returned to the area "making lots of friends". He added that this was the first weekend that John had been back to Wales since lockdown restrictions had lifted.
A postmortem examination gave the cause of Mr Slack's death as "probable drowning". Assistant coroner for North West Wales Sarah Riley concluded that Mr Slack drowned as a result of misadventure due to the fact that he intended to go in to the water.
But did not intend for death to be the consequence of this action as he was unexpectedly "thrown" from his kayak, the coroner added. Following his death Mr Slack's family paid tribute to the "beloved brother, son, dad, and uncle" and raised £680. through a GoFundMe page for the people who tried to save his life.
Mr Slack leaves behind his two children, Jayden and Charlie-Rose.
